16" Michelin LT245/75R16, Clearance?

[Andrew T]

Hi Rich

I agree you are pretty close to the limit for 15's once you fill the fresh tank, thanks for the weight report, do you have any extra accessories, additional batteries etc?

The 30's I have weighed are usually in you weight range with the fresh tank full. We weight with the fresh tank full and the waste tanks empty as you rarely have a full fresh tank and full waste tanks at the same time.

I don't worry about loading the Michelins to their LT max which is 1985 pounds. We ran these tires on the hundreds of 1/2 ton suburbans for close to 20 years. Towards the end of that time when we started weighing units we discovered that these were 4,200 - 4,400 on the rear axle and the tires were also driving the unit which is the most demanding wheel position. One reason I lean towards Michelin, over the years I have seen a lot of abuse of their tires and they just seem to take it.

We sometimes do up 34 non slides with 16" rims and P235/60 x 16 performance tires, it looks cool, they ride nice and being a performance tires they have enough bite that the rear axle does not lock up so easily in aggressive stops. We have about 50 34's out there with this set up and have been running them since 1994.

A couple of years ago a customer that full times folded his right front tire over on curb in a gas station and severly bent the spindle. He was on his way home from Texas and had to get back to work, an axle was 2 weeks away. He wound up driving from Texas to us on the two remaining 235/60's. They were half way to the rims and would have been about 500 pounds over capacity. When we were doing the axle a few weeks later we took those two tires off and ran them on the balancer they still in balance with no shifted belts. Not that anyone should do this, it is just amazing how much abuse a good quality tire can withstand. The worst quality tire would not likely of made the trip yet it would have the same load capacity etc.

Andrew T

[dznf0g]

Hi, Andrew,

I have no extra batts, single A/C, but I do have group 29 Interstates, bikes on the tongue....my wife insists on ceramic dishes (over the axles) some necessary tools, space heater, dehumidifier and so on. It all adds up, discretely and sneakily. That's why some of us harp on scale readings at least annually. The darn things gain weight worse than humans.

With all the discussion by tire experts here, and the lack of complete consensus about derating for non-STs, etc...for me the 15's just wasn't a comfortable choice. I usually don't tow with much water in the tanks at all, but I have been caught where I needed to bring water from home and a couple of times where the dump station was out of service and had to haul waste.

I am one who knows and believes in manufacturers specs (considering the margins built in) and really does not believe in exceeding them on a regular basis, although I have, out of necessity. At a minimum, exceeding the specs creates a long term component durability situation.

[switz]

I used the mythical factory literature empty weight and tongue weight numbers for the Classic 30. Subtracting the tongue weight from the empty weight gives a reference number for what the axles are supporting. To that number I then added the weight of all our "stuff" that was in the 25FB and will be beamed both up and down by Scotty and magically appear properly stowed in the new trailer.

That total loaded axle weight will exceed the 15" Michelin tire ratings for us.

But at least the consolation prize is still Michelin tires! Yeah!

[GCinSC2]

Andrew,

Thanks for the comments and your statements:

"I have not tried a 245 but it is going to be very close clearance wise and worn through wheel wells are not easy to repair."

This is exactly one of the things that I want to avoid either by a tire failure or my error of fitting too large of a tire, research continues. And the pic of the wheels and flares, darn sharp looking.

"One reason I lean towards Michelin, over the years I have seen a lot of abuse of their tires and they just seem to take it."

I agree with this comment and maybe its a contributor to the success of 225 16 that many members with heavier tandem axle rigs have installed. I'm on my way to getting a total of 12 Michelin tires, just put LTX M/S2 on the Dodge, my Beetle TDI is getting a set next week and then the Airstream, ouch.

I did finally start a spread sheet yesterday with my accumulated specs, it was getting that bad but its helped put mfgr's numbers in plain sight.

From Rich:

"I am one who knows and believes in manufacturers specs (considering the margins built in) and really does not believe in exceeding them on a regular basis, although I have, out of necessity. At a minimum, exceeding the specs creates a long term component durability situation."

Nicely stated.

I realize that tires have consumed a lot of ones and zeros here on AF and I truly appreciate everyone's comments. I hope to call Hi Spec next week and start the wheel portion of the next step. BTW I think they have a pretty decent sorta match to the OE alloy wheels on my Dodge.

Gary

[switz]

Keep in mind the specs of the SenDel T03-66655T wheel used by Airstream:

16x6 - Size
6/5.5 - # of lugs/bolt circle
+0 - offset
4.25 - center bore
3580 pounds @ 80 PSI - load rating

A wheel with these specs and the Michelin LT225/75R16/E LTX M/S2 tire (Michelin part number is 05681) will fit recent Airstream trailers - both single and double axle models.

[GCinSC2]

Here is info on the Hi Spec wheels that are a contender and sorta match my truck wheels Series S5 - HiSpec Wheel & Tire, Inc. - The Safety Wheel they have a 16X6.5, 6X5.5, 4.25 3580 Lb, 0 Deg offset.

Interested 16" future buyers might want to take a look, they use steel inserts for the taper seat of the lug nuts, interesting information, a lot of info about keeping the wheel on the trailer too.

Also recommended reading, this thread by Bruce B http://www.airforums.com/forums/f465...ng-111380.html

[GCinSC2]

This was a big part of my original thread:

Those of you that own the 30' Slide in particular or the 31' have the best chance to offer your .02$ about any possible clearance issues to the wheel well arches, that is a concern.

I think one of the great things about this open discussion is, just that. The open discussion, problems and solutions.

Well, time for me to offer my conclusion.

I actually mounted 2 LT245/75R16 on my trailer with the new wheels. I was not comfortable with the clearance against the forward wheel arch. Tried to avoid the error with what I thought was careful considerations and crystal ball polishing, but when the rubber met the trailer, didn't like what I had.

New 16's with LT225 mounted and sucessfully installed.

[switz]

Today I was finishing a few modifications to the new trailer.

I was able to get the 16" Michelin spare on it's new SenDel steel wheel installed with a lot of effort onto the stock storage arm without any bending of the two limit arms. I laid on the ground and used arms and legs to manipulate the tire assembly into place.

It was not too hard to get the tire support bracket back up and the retaining pin in place.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by switz

Today I was finishing a few modifications to the new trailer.

I was able to get the 16" Michelin spare on it's new SenDel steel wheel installed with a lot of effort onto the stock storage arm without any bending of the two limit arms. I laid on the ground and used arms and legs to manipulate the tire assembly into place.

It was not too hard to get the tire support bracket back up and the retaining pin in place.

My experience was the same as yours. I have noticed that after it has been in place for a while, the fit loosens up a bit. When I had the recall replacements installed, the dealer used a floor jack to raise and lower the spare. I think, if I have any need to do it at home, I will do the same. However, as you have, I have proved to myself that I can do it by hand if needed on the road.

Ken

[switz]

There was an advantage to lying on the cool asphalt (was only in the mid 60s in Phoenix at the time). If on the side of the road in the mud, I would have looked like the looser in a mud wrestling contest after wiggling all around getting the tire on the storage frame.